Bipod with compressively popping up inner leg assemblies

ABSTRACT

A bipod with a mechanism for compressively popping up from rear-ends of pipes, comprising: a bracket assembly; at least two pop up inner leg assemblies pivotally connected to the bottom of the bracket assembly; wherein the pop up inner leg assembly comprises: an out pipe accommodating a compression spring and an inner leg; an inner leg having a first state of completely retracting into the out pipe and a second state of completely protruding from the out pipe; a compression spring located inside the out pipe and abutting against one end of the inner leg towards the out pipe; a switch unit for releasing and locking the inner leg; wherein, in use, the inner legs are released from the first state and pop up into the second state with the elastic force of the compression spring when the switch unit is triggered.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority under 35 USC §119 to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 62/322,806 filed on Apr. 15, 2016, whose entirecontents are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to bipods, and more particularly to bipodswith compressively popping up inner leg assemblies.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

During shooting in sports competitions, a firearm is usually supportedby a bipod device in order to increase the stability of shooting. Thefirearm for sports competitions, for example, a rifle for competition,usually has a herringbone bipod, which usually comprises a bipod seat,the top of which interconnects with a bipod joint on the rifle forsports competitions and on the bottom of which two unfoldable bipodpoles are installed. In use, the bipod joint on the rifle is installedon the bipod seat and then the bipod poles are unfolded, for supportingand shooting.

Bipods with the same type bipod seat now available in the marketcompressively pop up by an external spring on a front-end of legs, whichhas the following drawbacks: the spring is installed exposed to a frontend surface of a pipe, whose compression causes damage to the endsurface of the pipe and affects appearance and stability of popping upof legs. Additionally, as the same type structure of inner legs andexternal pipes now available in the market is not provided withstabilizing device, joggling (movement) will occur due to large spacewhen locked, which affects shooting accuracy directly. With respect to abipod seat with a structure of inner leg/external pipes with extensionsprings inside, during deployment of shooting, it needs one hand to holdthe pipe and the other hand to pull an inner leg, and in turn pull theother inner leg after the first inner leg is pulled out, whichdeployment is slow and inconvenient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

With respect to the deficiencies of the above prior art, the presentinvention aims to solve a technical problem by providing a new-typebipod device for realizing a prompt adjustment and positioning of afirearm for sports, and for being adaptable to various types of terrain.

The present invention solve the technical problem by employing thefollowing technical solutions.

The present invention provides a bipod with compressively popping upinner leg assemblies, comprising:

a bracket assembly;

at least two pop up inner leg assemblies pivotally connected to thebottom of the bracket assembly;

wherein the pop up inner leg assembly comprising:

an out pipe accommodating a compression spring and an inner leg;

an inner leg having a first state of completely retracting into the outpipe and a second state of completely protruding from the out pipe;

a compression spring located inside the out pipe and abutting againstone end of the inner leg towards the out pipe;

a switch unit for releasing and locking the inner leg;

wherein, in use, the bracket assembly is installed on an object to besupported, the inner leg assemblies are unfolded and the inner legs arereleased from the first state and pop up into the second state with theinterposition of the elastic force of the compression spring when theswitch unit is triggered.

Preferably, the switch unit comprises a component for locking theposition of the inner leg in the first state or the second state, whichcomprises a switch lock, a switch positioning pin and a switch resettingspring.

Preferably, when the inner leg needs to pop up from the first state tothe second state, the switch lock is pressed and then the inner leg isreleased and pop up from a rear-end of the out pipe with theinterposition of the elastic force of the compression spring until aproximal flange of the inner leg contacts with a stopping unit insidethe out pipe, so that the inner leg protrudes from the first state tothe second state.

Preferably, when the inner leg needs to retract from the second state tothe first state, the switch lock is pressed and then the inner leg ispushed inward from the rear-end of the out pipe until the switch lockclicks into a distal notch of the inner leg automatically with theinterposition of the force of the switch positioning pin and the switchresetting spring to lock longitudinal displacement of the inner leg, sothat the inner leg retracts from the second state to the first statewhile the compression spring installed inside the out pipe is compressedto the shortest state.

Preferably, the inner leg is provided with a plurality of notches, and asection between each two notches on the inner leg is defined as asegment; the inner leg has a third state of partially retracting intothe out pipe.

Preferably, the switch lock is pressed and then the inner leg is pushedinward when the inner leg needs to retract from the second state to thethird state or the first state; for each segment pushed inside, theswitch lock clicks into the notches of the inner leg automatically tolock longitudinal displacement of the inner leg with the interpositionof the force of the switch positioning pin and the switch resettingspring.

Preferably, a proximal end of the inner leg towards the out pipe isprovided with a leg stop, with a plastic collar provided on the leg stopand around the leg stop and abutting against the inner wall of the outpipe.

Preferably, the compression spring is out of touch with the proximal endof the inner leg towards the out pipe when the inner leg is in thesecond state.

Preferably, the switch lock has an annular portion with a protrusionpart freely extending through the another aperture on a side wall of theout pipe, wherein the protrusion part protrudes towards the axis of theout pipe; the annular portion together with the switch lock forms aL-shaped part which is biased by the switch resetting spring locatedinside the switch positioning pin below the switch lock, to selectivelyengage notches on a side wall of the inner leg, so as to lock the innerleg at its protrusion or retracting with respect to the out pipe.

Preferably, when the inner leg fully protrudes to the second state, theprotrusion part of the annular portion of the switch unit moves upwardlyand engages with a proximal notch on the far left of the inner leg tomaintain the second state of the inner leg.

Preferably, the popping up of the inner leg depends on elastic potentialenergy of the compression spring; the compression spring is designed tohave enough potential energy to overcome the friction of a plasticcollar and/or the mass of the inner leg, for the inner leg popping up tothe second state or a state proximate to the second state, and while theinner leg is in the first state or a state proximate to the first state,to compressively bias the compression spring between an end surface ofthe leg stop and one end of the out pipe proximate to the bracketassembly, for gathering elastic potential energy; wherein thecompression spring has maximum offset when the inner leg is in the firststate.

The same-type product now available in the market does not have amechanism for quick popping up inner legs with built-in compressionsprings according to the present invention. In contrast, the existingproduct only has a structure of inner legs/out pipes, wherein the innerlegs are compressively popped up by external springs on a front-end ofeach leg; or a mechanism of quick retracting with extension springs.

The present invention can be used for supporting rifles for competitionin precision shooting, such as shooting competitions and hunting. Withrespect to the prior art, the present invention is advantageous in that:the two switch locks can be operated by two hands respectively at thesame time, and when the switch lock is pressed, the inner leg pops upinstantly from a rear-end of the out pipe with the interposition of theelastic force of the compression spring, to realize quick adjustment ofa rifle, which can conveniently adapt to various types of terrain.Additionally, as compared to other existing products, a spring isprovided within the out pipe of the bipod, which is hidden and can avoidthe risk of scratching the surface of the out pipe. Since one end of theinner leg towards the out pipe is provided with a leg stop and plasticcollar, gaps that lead to shaking (movement) of the inner leg can begreatly decreased and the locking is more stable when the inner leg popsup to the maximum length and is locked by the switching lock, whencompared to other product.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present inventionwill be illustrated below in detailed, with reference to theaccompanying drawings and the detailed description of the embodiments,in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a bipod accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of one of the legs of the first embodiment ofa bipod according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an inner leg of the first embodimentof a bipod according to the present invention in a second state;

FIG. 4 is a partial enlarged view of a switch unit of the bipod of FIG.3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a bipod accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of one of the legs of the second embodimentof a bipod according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view of an inner leg of the secondembodiment of a bipod according to the present invention in a firststate;

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view of the inner leg of the secondembodiment of a bipod according to the present invention in a secondstate;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the inner leg of the secondembodiment of a bipod according to the present invention in the secondstate;

FIG. 10 is a partial enlarged view of a switch unit of the bipod of FIG.9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1-10 are illustrative embodiments of a bipod with compressivelypopping up inner leg assemblies according to the present invention, insome of which the specific structure details are only illustrativedescriptions for explaining the technical solutions of the presentinvention, but not meant to limit the present invention. Where there arethe same structures in each embodiment according to the presentinvention, for the sake of simplicity, different embodiments may referto the same drawings for description.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a bipod accordingto the present invention, which comprises a bracket assembly 21; atleast two pop up inner leg assemblies 23 pivotally connected to thebottom of the bracket assembly 21.

Specifically, the bipod further comprises leg reset springs 22, sockethexagon screws 24 with half-round heads and outer hexagon nuts 25. Thesocket hexagon screw 24 with half-round head is for connecting the innerleg assembly 23 with the bracket assembly 21.

The pop up inner leg assembly 23 comprises an out pipe 4 accommodating acompression spring 2 and an inner leg 5, as shown in FIG. 2. The innerleg 5 has a first state of completely retracting into the out pipe 4 anda second state of completely protruding from the out pipe 4, as shown inFIGS. 7 and 8. The compression spring 2 is located inside the out pipe 4and abuts against one end of the inner leg 5 towards the out pipe 4, asshown in FIG. 7.

Specifically, the compression spring 2 is formed with a semicircularhook on one end proximate to the bracket assembly 21, and held insidethe out pipe 4 on one end proximate to the bracket assembly 21 by aholding sleeve 1 that passes through a corresponding aperture 1A on theout pipe 4 and said hook, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 7. An out sleeve 3envelops the out pipe 4, which is on one end of the out pipe 4 proximateto the bracket assembly 21 along the axial direction of the compressionspring 2, with a correspondingly aperture for the holding sleeve 1passing through it and entering into the out pipe 4.

The pop up inner leg assembly 23 further comprises a switch unit 23A forreleasing and locking the inner leg 5, as shown in FIG. 1. In use, thebracket assembly 21 is installed on an object to be supported, the innerleg assemblies 23 are unfolded and the inner legs 5 are released fromthe first state and pop up into the second state with the interpositionof the elastic force of the compression spring 2 when the switch unit23A is triggered.

Preferably, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, said switch unit 23A comprises acomponent for locking the position of the inner leg 5 in the first stateor the second state, which illustratively comprises a housing block 12,a holding screw 13, a switch lock 9, a switch positioning pin 10 and aswitch resetting spring 11.

Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the switch lock 9 has anannular portion 15 with a protrusion part 16 freely extending throughthe another aperture on a side wall of the out pipe 4, wherein theprotrusion part 16 protrudes towards the axis of the out pipe 4. Asshown in FIG. 4, viewed from the radial direction of the out pipe 4, theannular portion 15 together with the switch lock 9 forms a L-shaped partwhich is biased by the switch resetting spring 11 located inside theswitch positioning pin 10 below the switch lock 9, to selectively engagenotches on side wall of the inner leg 5, so as to lock the inner leg 5of its protrusion or retracting with respect to the out pipe 4. Itshould be appreciated that inner leg 5 can have various numbers ofnotches, for example, in the present embodiment, only a proximal notchproximate to a leg stop 6 and a distal notch away from the bracketassembly 21 are provided.

When the inner leg 5 needs to pop up from the first state to the secondstate, a user can press the switch lock 9 (i.e. viewed from end surfaceof top of the switch positioning pin 10) to release the inner leg 5 toallow the inner leg 5 to pop up from rear-end of the out pipe 4 by thecompression spring 2. When the inner leg 5 fully protrudes to themaximum protrusion length, the user releases the switch lock 9 to allowthe protrusion part 16 of the annular portion 15 of the switch unit 23Ato move upwardly and engage with the proximal notch of the inner leg 5(i.e. viewed from the bracket assembly 21), i.e. the notch mostproximate to the leg stop 6 as shown in FIG. 4, to maintain the maximumprotrusion length of the inner leg 5 (i.e. the second state).

Preferably, the protrusion length of the inner leg 5 from the out pipe 4is minimum when the inner leg 5 is in the first state (see FIG. 7), andthe protrusion length is maximum when the inner leg 5 is in the secondstate (see FIG. 3, about A+B).

Preferably, as shown in FIG. 3, the compression spring 2 does notcontact with one end of the inner leg 5 towards the out pipe 4 when theinner leg 5 is in the second state, i.e. after the inner leg 5 pops up.In fact, because the popping up of the inner leg 5 depends on elasticpotential energy of the compression spring 2, length of the compressionspring 2 can be designed to be short enough to have enough potentialenergy to overcome the friction of a plastic collar 7 and/or the mass ofthe inner leg 5, for the inner leg 5 popping up to the second state or astate proximate to the second state. When the inner leg 5 is in thefirst state or a state proximate to the first state, the compressionspring 2 is compressively biased between the end surface of the leg stop6 and one end of the out pipe 4 that is proximate to the bracketassembly 21, for providing certain force feedback for facilitating thelocking of the inner leg 5 to the first state and gathering elasticpotential energy, so that the compression spring 2 has maximum offsetwhen the inner leg 5 is in the first state.

Preferably, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, one end of the inner leg 5towards the out pipe 4 is provided with the leg stop 6, the leg stop 6is insertable into a cavity of the inner leg 5 that is at leastpartially hollow, and the leg stop 6 is connected with the inner leg 5by means of a spring pin 8. Alternatively, the leg stop 6 can bethreadingly-connected or integrally-formed with the inner leg 5.Illustratively, the leg stop 6 can be provided with notches as well,which comprise a plastic notch for installing the plastic collar 7 and aproximal notch used to engage with the protrusion part 16. The plasticcollar 7 is provided on the leg stop 6 and around the leg stop 6 andabuts against an inner wall of the out pipe 4. The plastic collar 7 isused to hold and stabilize the inner leg 5 when the inner leg 5 is ofthe maximum protrusion length, and reduce friction and noise duringprotrusion or retracting of the inner leg 5.

Preferably, as shown in FIG. 4, a bushing 14 is provided on the innerwall of the out pipe 4 and near the opening of the out pipe 4, which isused to guide the inner leg 5 during protrusion or retracting of theinner leg 5, and used as an end stopper for stopping the leg stop 6.Specially, the maximum protrusion length of the inner leg 5 isrestricted by a proximal flange of the leg stop 6 of the inner leg 5 anda stopping unit inside the out pipe 4. The stopping unit may be thebushing 14. During the popping up of the inner leg 5, the furtherlongitudinal movement of the inner leg 5 is stopped by the proximalflange of the leg stop 6 contacting with and abutting against the endsurface of the bushing 14. When the inner leg 5 fully protrudes to themaximum protrusion length, the user releases the switch lock 9 to allowthe protrusion part 16 of the annular portion 15 of the switch unit 23Ato move upwardly and engage the proximal notch of the leg stop 6 to lockthe maximum protrusion length of the inner leg 5 with help of the abovestopping unit (i.e. the second state). More preferably, the material andphysical parameters of at least one of the compression spring 2 and theplastic collar 7 can be finely adjusted, such as by the elastic force ora friction coefficient, to allow the inner leg 5 to be just in thesecond state or a state highly proximate to the second state when theinner leg 5 stops after popping up, thus an operator can lock the secondstate quickly and conveniently.

In the embodiment, the inner leg 5 only has the first state and thesecond state, which is particularly suitable for application of quickprotrusion and retracting without need of adjustment of multi-stageprotrusion length.

According to the second embodiment of the present invention, whosestructure is partially the same as the first embodiment, as shown inFIGS. 5-10, the differences therebetween lie in that: the inner leg 5 isdesigned as a pipe with segments, i.e. with a plurality of notches onthe pipe with segments, and a section between each two notches isdefined as a segment. Correspondingly, the inner leg 5 has a third stateof partially retracting into the out pipe 4. Likewise, when moving fromthe first state to the second state, the user can press the switch lock9 to release the inner leg 5 to allow the inner leg 5 to pop up fromrear-end of the out pipe 4 by the compression spring 2. The switch lock9 is pressed and then the inner leg 5 is pushed inward one segment byone segment or a plurality of segments at each time when the inner leg 5needs to retract from the second state to the third state or the firststate; during each segment pushed inside, the switch lock 9 clicks intothe notches of the inner leg 5 automatically with the interposition ofthe force of the switch positioning pin 10 and the switch resettingspring 11 to lock longitudinal displacement of the inner leg 5; and theinner leg 5 retracts from the second state or the third state to thefirst state while the compression spring installed inside the out pipe 4is compressed to the shortest state, when the last segment (e.g. a notchon a latest right end) or the proximal notch of the leg stop 6 is lockedby the switch lock 9.

In the embodiment, the inner leg 5 has the first state, the secondstate, and the third state with a flexibly adjustable length, which isparticularly suitable for application needing fine adjustment ofmulti-stage length.

The above is only the preferred embodiments of the present invention,but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Thus,the technical effects of the present invention with same means shouldall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention and thetechnical solutions and embodiments within the scope of protection ofthe present invention can have various modifications and changes.

What is claimed is:
 1. A bipod with compressively popping up inner legassemblies, comprising: a bracket assembly; at least two pop up innerleg assemblies pivotally connected to the bottom of the bracketassembly; wherein the pop up inner leg assembly comprising: an out pipeaccommodating a compression spring and an inner leg; an inner leg havinga first state of completely retracting into the out pipe and a secondstate of completely protruding from the out pipe; a compression springlocated inside the out pipe and abutting against one end of the innerleg towards the out pipe; a switch unit for releasing and locking theinner leg; wherein, in use, the bracket assembly is installed on anobject to be supported, the inner leg assemblies are unfolded and theinner legs are released from the first state and pop up into the secondstate with the interposition of the elastic force of the compressionspring when the switch unit is triggered.
 2. The bipod withcompressively popping up inner leg assemblies according to claim 1,wherein the switch unit comprises a component for locking the positionof the inner leg in the first state or the second state, the componentfor locking the position comprises a switch lock, a switch positioningpin and a switch resetting spring.
 3. The bipod with compressivelypopping up inner leg assemblies according to claim 2, wherein when theinner leg needs to pop up from the first state to the second state, theswitch lock is pressed and then the inner leg is released and pop upfrom a rear-end of the out pipe with the interposition of the elasticforce of the compression spring until a proximal flange of the inner legcontacts with a stopping unit inside the out pipe, at this moment theinner leg protrudes from the first state to the second state.
 4. Thebipod with compressively popping up inner leg assemblies according toclaim 2, wherein when the inner leg needs to retract from the secondstate to the first state, the switch lock is pressed and then the innerleg is pushed inward from the rear-end of the out pipe until the switchlock clicks into a distal notch of the inner leg automatically with theinterposition of the force of the switch positioning pin and the switchresetting spring to lock a longitudinal displacement of the inner leg,at which moment the inner leg retracts from the second state to thefirst state while the compression spring installed inside the out pipeis compressed to the shortest state.
 5. The bipod with compressivelypopping up inner leg assemblies according to claim 1, wherein the innerleg is provided with a plurality of notches, and a section between eachtwo notches on the inner leg is defined as a segment; the inner leg hasa third state of partially retracting into the out pipe.
 6. The bipodwith compressively popping up inner leg assemblies according to claim 5,wherein the switch lock is pressed and then the inner leg is pushedinward when the inner leg needs to retract from the second state to thethird state or the first state; so that for each segment pushed inside,the switch lock clicks into the notches of the inner leg automaticallyto lock a longitudinal displacement of the inner leg with theinterposition of the force of the switch positioning pin and the switchresetting spring.
 7. The bipod with compressively popping up inner legassemblies according to claim 1, wherein a proximal end of the inner legtowards the out pipe is provided with a leg stop, with a plastic collarprovided on the leg stop and around the leg stop and abutting against aninner wall of the out pipe.
 8. The bipod with compressively popping upinner leg assemblies according to claim 1, wherein the compressionspring does not contact with the proximal end of the inner leg towardsthe out pipe when the inner leg is in the second state.
 9. The bipodwith compressively popping up inner leg assemblies according to claim 2,wherein the switch lock has an annular portion with a protrusion partfreely extending through the another aperture on a side wall of the outpipe, wherein the protrusion part protrudes towards the axis of the outpipe; the annular portion together with the switch lock forms a L-shapedpart which is biased by the switch resetting spring located inside theswitch positioning pin below the switch lock, to selectively engagenotches on a side wall of the inner leg, so as to lock the inner legwith its protrusion or to retract the inner leg with respect to the outpipe.
 10. The bipod with compressively popping up inner leg assembliesaccording to claim 3, wherein when the inner leg fully protrudes to thesecond state, the protrusion part of the annular portion of the switchunit moves upwardly and engages with a proximal notch on the far left ofthe inner leg to maintain the second state of the inner leg.
 11. Thebipod with compressively popping up inner leg assemblies according toclaim 1, wherein the popping up of the inner leg depends on elasticpotential energy of the compression spring; the compression spring isdesigned to have enough potential energy to overcome the friction of aplastic collar and/or the mass of the inner leg, for the inner legpopping up to the second state or a state proximate to the second state,and while the inner leg is in the first state or a state proximate tothe first state, to compressively bias the compression spring between anend surface of the leg stop and one end of the out pipe proximate to thebracket assembly, for gathering elastic potential energy.